Exposition Park stood along the banks of the Allegheny River on Pittsburgh’s North Side — then the independent city of Allegheny — and served as the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates for nearly two decades. Built in 1890 and seating around 16,000 fans, the covered wooden grandstand with open bleachers along both baselines made it one of the most capacious ballparks of the Deadball Era.
The park cemented its place in baseball history on October 6, 1903, when it hosted Game 4 of the first modern World Series, becoming the first National League stadium ever to stage a championship series contest. That same era saw the Pirates claim three consecutive National League pennants from 1901 to 1903, making Exposition Park the cradle of Pittsburgh’s first baseball dynasty.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Pittsburgh Pirates (1891–1909); Pittsburgh Burghers (1890); Federal League Stogies/Rebels (1913–1915)
- Location: North Side, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (formerly Allegheny City)
- Opened: 1890
- Closed: c. 1915 (abandoned/demolished)
- Capacity: About 16,000
- Dimensions: 400 ft (left/right field), 450 ft (center field)
- World Series: Hosted Games 4–7 of the first modern World Series, October 6–10, 1903
Life Along the Allegheny
The Allegheny River was Exposition Park’s most persistent adversary. The ballpark sat close enough to the waterway that spring flooding was nearly routine; a July 4, 1902 doubleheader became legend when water reportedly rose thigh-deep in center and right fields, with outfielders wading through the flood to field batted balls. Crowds still came, and the floods became woven into the park’s folklore rather than reasons to stay away.
Off-season, the grounds did double duty as a football venue. Early clubs including the Allegheny Athletic Association — recognized by some historians as fielding the first professional football player in 1892 — and the Western University of Pennsylvania (later the University of Pittsburgh) all used Exposition Park, making it one of the city’s first multi-sport facilities.
The Move to Forbes Field and a Lasting Legacy
By the late 1900s the aging wooden stands and chronic flooding made Exposition Park untenable for the Pirates, who had grown into one of the National League’s marquee franchises. The team played its final game there on June 29, 1909, then relocated to the newly completed Forbes Field in Oakland — a modern steel-and-concrete ballpark that signaled the end of the wooden-grandstand era.
Minor league and Federal League clubs continued to use Exposition Park through the early 1910s, but the old grounds were abandoned around 1915. Today a historical marker and a replica home plate installed in 1995 near PNC Park on Pittsburgh’s North Shore quietly mark the spot where professional baseball in the city was born.
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Exposition Park FAQs
What was Exposition Park in Pittsburgh?
Exposition Park was a historic wooden baseball stadium on Pittsburgh’s North Side (formerly Allegheny City) that served as the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1891 to 1909. Built in 1890 with a capacity of about 16,000, it also hosted early professional football and Federal League baseball before being abandoned around 1915.
Did Exposition Park host the World Series?
Yes. Exposition Park hosted Games 4 through 7 of the 1903 World Series — the first modern World Series in Major League Baseball history — making it the first National League ballpark ever to stage a championship series game. The Boston Americans defeated the Pirates five games to three.
Where was Exposition Park located, and is anything there today?
Exposition Park stood along the Allegheny River on Pittsburgh’s North Side, in the area now between PNC Park and what was once the site of Three Rivers Stadium. The ballpark itself is long gone, but a historical marker and a replica home plate near PNC Park commemorate the site.
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Photo: Boston Public Library / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.